Middlebury College

The Middlebury College Panthers join the You Can Play team in embracing and promoting inclusion and diversity for all athletes, coaches, staff, and fans.

"Teammates are everything," "Because you are a part of our family, we need to embrace differences. Not look past them or ignore them…embrace," "We're all in this together," are but a few of the unscripted sentiments expressed by Middlebury student athletes on the subject of equality and respect for all teammates. Each athlete expresses his or her own feelings, yet all share a common theme.

More than thirty varsity teams compete at Middlebury, and since 1993 these teams have won 31 national championships and a Learfield Sports Directors Cup. "These achievements would not have been remotely possibly without complete acceptance and respect of self and teammate. Yet as impressive and rewarding as these championship 'destinations' are, the respective journeys—all that is experienced and learned along the way—are what will be remembered most," said the Panthers in a statement.

Middlebury College was founded in 1800. The school, in Middlebury, Vermont, was the first institution of higher learning to grant a bachelor's degree to an African-American, Alexander Twilight in 1823.

Middlebury's video was produced by the Class of 2013's Matt Lennon and the school's article is here: